Intel Corp (INTC)

[walbert]

According to marketwatch.com:

A) As of 9/30/13, TSM cash=217B TWM = $7.16B USD; INTC cash = $4.88B USD

One would ordinarily add in short term investments as they are readily convertible to cash. Intel has $10 billion in short term investments whereas TSM has almost nothing. In terms of liquid assets Intel has a decided edge.

B) Net Operating Cash Flow: as of 9/30/13, TSM = +$98B TWM = +$3.23B USD, INTC = +$5.7B USD

Here you have to take dividends into account as well. But you really can't take a single data point. Intel has generated a lot of extra free cash flow over the last four years. TSM has not. As previously stated, TSM's dividends have exceeded their free cash flow in all of the last 4 years. This is not at all the case with Intel.

C) AGAIN with the BS gross margin... I said NET margin. TSMC keeps more of every dollar of revenue it gets than Intel does.

Net margin is the metric that smaller companies use to make them look better in comparison to larger companies. But the truth is that Intel's revenues and net profits dwarf those of TSM, which is why Intel can afford its R&D, CapEx, and dividends without much of a problem while TSM is being crushed by its CapEx and dividend requirements.

Any sober look at the financials of the two companies will confirm what I'm saying. The numbers are the numbers.